Mini Mindfulness Break for December 18, 2018

COMMUNITY

Although it is too soon for the robins to nest, flocks of them have
been arriving for weeks. Their calls and the sound of dripping water
floats through open windows of the zendo. Old snow gives way to
stretches of deep, sticky mud. Yesterday a crew of residents went
down to the river to clear out the non-native elms that grab too much
water from the cottonwoods. But in spite of some warming, winter still
holds fast, especially at night when mud and water freeze back into
rock-hard ground and slick ice, Careful!

Since the daily schedule has returned to the normal round of
meditation-work-eat-sleep, residents have had time to spend an hour
practicing ritual, in this case the gassho, the bow of respect we use
so frequently. Fingers are pressed together and the hands are held
fist distance from the face and just opposite the nose. The arms are
held horizontally with elbows out, and feet are together, or fist

– Zen

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 17, 2018

Our spiritual practice is to transcend the illusory “self” and recognize conscious compassionate awareness as our authentic nature.

– Cheri Huber

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 16, 2018

If you want your children to be happy, spend more time teaching them joy by embodying it

– Martha Beck, How to Stop Procrastinating

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 15, 2018

Our neighbors are those we happen to be with at the moment. Life is for service. We human beings are meant to be helpers. In fact, the greatest thing we can do in life is to help our neighbors come to know that they are lovable and capable of loving.

– Fred Rogers

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 14, 2018

Election Day

Voting is a manifestation of the law of interdependence: Each of our actions, no matter how small, affects the whole cosmos. Our votes count.

– Susan Moon, “Ten Practices to Change the World”

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 13, 2018

Taking Ourselves Less Seriously

Glimpsing nonself clearly, even for one moment, puts ordinary truth in perspective. When the conventional picture returns, we regard it differently. What a relief when we no longer have to take our “selves” so seriously!

– Cynthia Thatcher, “Disconnect the Dots “

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 12, 2018

Shine the Light of Insight

Simply by turning on the light, you can instantly destroy the darkness. Likewise, even a rather simple analysis of ego-clinging and afflictive emotions can make them collapse.

– Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, “An Investigation of the Mind”

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 11, 2018

Extending mourning to “sustained mourning” means taking time in addressing our emotion and the existence and nonexistence of others. By taking time I hope to gain the opportunity to learn that every enemy is only another human being, and that every victim has a potential aggressor within.

– Eiko Otake

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 10, 2018

The Key to Happiness

Grace is the key to happiness. When bad things happen, if we have confidence in grace, then we can remain grounded in that and not be overwhelmed by the soap opera of life. And grace is a circular blessing. The more grace enters your life, the more grateful you are. The more grateful you are, the more easily grace seems to enter.

– Dharmavidya David Brazier, “Let Grace In”

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Mini Mindfulness Break for December 09, 2018

Learning from the Birds

I stand in the middle of perfection. There is no one else around me. The cries of the geese are beautiful. They hold only joy, not a trace of fear.

– Rick Bass, “A Great Migration “

May you be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

All my best,

Jerome Freedman, PhD
–Jerome

 

Copyright © 1996-2018, Jerome Freedman, Ph. D., All Rights Reserved